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Notes In Observance – WWE CWC 7/20/16: Da Bomb

“Notes In Observance” features random thoughts and analysis on recent television shows. Quick results can be found at the bottom of the post.

(Aired 7/20/16)

Da Bomb

– if you’ve yet to check out the WWE Cruiserweight Classic, what are you waiting for? Luckily, you have us to rely on, but for real, watch it. Between the Full Sail University crowd, the uber-credible commentary team of Mauro Ranallo and Daniel Bryan and emphasis on wrestling first and foremost with names known on the indy scene, what’s not to love? Anyways, this episode featured more First Round action from this 32-man tournament. The First Round match between Tajiri and Damian Slater seemed to favor the WWE Japanese veteran upon first glance, but they did a swell job with Slater’s hype video, as we learned of his underdog-to-veteran status in Australia. Early on, there were smooth technical maneuvers exchanged. Tajiri got an advantage with his stiff strikes and kicks, from his Strong Style background and he utilized his submissions from his mixed martial arts background. Slater was okay, but didn’t do anything memorable, as this was all Tajiri, who also brought out his signature Tarantula submission and handspring back elbow, which eventually led to his Buzzsaw Kick, a logical finisher for the veteran to advance, which set up the Second Round match where he’d take on Gran Metalik. Oh, that’ll be fun.

– The First Round match between TJ Perkins and Da Mack was a cool clash of similar personalities, where Perkins (Manik of TNA fame) was emphasized for his in-ring versatility of styles and was a heavy favorite while the corn-rolled Mack came from Germany and aspired to be the Michael Jackson of pro wrestling. We assumed that Perkins would move on from name recognition, but it was a sweet showcase for both men to fly around. Perkins was the crowd favorite and did some impressive things, such as his Boston Crab variation where he also tied back Mack’s arms for added pressure. Mack hung in there and also did a nice somersault plancha, but eventually tapped out to a knee bar from Perkins. Nice little match there.

– The First Round match between Mustafa Ali and Lince Dorado stepped the hour up to a higher level. A good number of fans already knew of Dorado from his stints in Dragon Gate and CHIKARA and was perceived as the favorite. On the other end was Ali, a 13-year veteran from Chicago who talked about how he was trained in many styles and could fly high in “do or die” fashion. The Puerto Rican Dorado received a big pop from the crowd and he put on an incredible display of aerials, namely the flying head scissors off the apron and springboard moonsault inspired by Yoshihiro Asai aka Ultimo Dragon. He also did a springboard reverse flying huracanrana, almost unheard of. Towards the end, Ali began to break out as the brash policeman broke out an awesome Spanish Fly off the tope rope that wowed the crowd. He backed it up with an inverted 450 splash (or something close) but missed and that set up Dorado to win with the shooting star press. Best match of the hour to this point.

– The First Round match between Akira Tozawa and Kenneth Johnson looked like a severe mismatch on paper in favor for the recognized Tozawa, who boasted about his entertaining in-ring style and energy and always dreamed of wrestling for WWE. Johnson was described as a hard fighter from Detroit and mentioned by commentary to be the best friend of Apollo Crews. As the contest progressed, it was presented as more of a stalemate, as they traded chops and strikes. Johnson hung in there with Tozawa to walk away from this with a nice showing with several close near-falls on Tozawa, but the Japanese veteran took over the final minute with a flurry of quick strikes and applied a bridge pin from a German Suplex to win. Great match in the end.

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About Nicholas Jason Lopez

Just a 25 year-old Brooklynite. Nothing more, nothing less.
Currently Freelancing for The Bensonhurst Bean website in Brooklyn, he has also been published on sites such as Review Fix, College University of New York Athletic Conference, Dying Scene, Brooklyn News Service, All Media NY, BrooklynFans.com and Yahoo Voices.
He has also interned for The Home Reporter/Brooklyn Spectator based out of Brooklyn, NY.